The Houston Rockets will try to start a new winning streak when they visit the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night.
Houston had won seven in a row before losing 132-127 to the Sacramento Kings on Thursday.
This was also the end of a five-game overall winning streak for the Rockets.
Houston did not do enough to sustain any streak in the eyes of coach Ime Udoka.
“We were pretty weak offensively, just had some unforced errors and then a lot of mistakes defensively,” Udoka said. “So it’s a good thing for me to get back in the game and finally give myself a chance, considering how poorly we played overall.
“We kept fighting, got back in the game and whenever we had chances, we made a lot of mistakes. I don’t know if we deserved to win this game.”
Rockets star Jalen Green continued his strong month with 28 points and four 3-pointers. Green is averaging 30.3 points and 4.5 3-pointers (36 total) in January.
Alperen Sengun (21 points, 10 rebounds) and Amen Thompson (20 points, 10 rebounds) had double-doubles for Houston.
The Rockets also got 16 points from reserve Terry Eason, who had missed the last 13 games due to a foot injury. Eason played 24 minutes.
Eason said of his return, “Besides my family, basketball is really one of the only things I love, and it’s incredibly hard for me to step away from the game.” “Obviously we lost, and I’m upset about it, but I’m incredibly grateful to be back on the field.”
Fred VanVleet missed the game at Sacramento (due to personal reasons) but will return to action against Portland.
The teams split by one in Houston earlier this season. Dillon Brooks scored a season-high 28 points and Eason added 22 points, leading the Rockets to a 116–88 win over Portland on November 22. The following night, the Trail Blazers won 104–98 behind 25 points from Anfernee Simmons.
Simmons will look to bounce back on Saturday after going scoreless in 30 minutes during Thursday’s 118-89 home loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Simmons was 0 of 9 from the field, including five 3-point misses.
“It looked like a tough night,” Portland coach Chauncey Billups said of Simmons’ shooting problems. “They have a really good defense. They put a lot of focus on that. I didn’t think they were overly aggressive on that. Their defense, they force you to take a lot of tough shots. And he really “Never could get away from them … It was a tough night on offense, which all the players have.”
Portland has experienced several tough nights this season and has lost four consecutive games, the last three played at home.
Before losing by 29 points against the Clippers, the Trail Blazers lost 119-98 to the Miami Heat last Saturday and 132-114 to the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday.
Portland never led against Los Angeles and fell behind by 34 points.
Dalano Banton led the Trail Blazers with 23 points off the bench. The output tied his season high.
“Dalano played aggressively with the strength he usually does,” Billups said. “We needed it so much. By that point in the game, it was just out of reach.”
Portland’s Deni Avdija (right ankle sprain) is questionable to play after missing the last two games.
–Field Level Media
